OFFICERS TARGET UNDERAGE DRINKERS AT RECREATION AREAS

Effort designed to clear public lands of alcohol and drug abuse

Natural resource officers with the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks (KDWP) will be targeting underage drinkers at Lyon State Fishing Lake and Melvern Reservoir this spring and summer. Similar operations on these areas last year netted arrests for minors possessing or consuming alcohol, as well as drugs and drug paraphernalia. Numerous cases of beer and bottles of other alcoholic beverages were seized, and citations were issued.

Parents or guardians were notified and required to come out to the lakes to pick up their sons and daughters. Additionally, officers arrested and charged several adults with furnishing intoxicants to minors as a result of information obtained in these operations.

KDWP natural resource officers will conduct similar efforts in other parts of the state to keep natural areas safe and clean, and to help prevent tragedies that often occur as a result of alcohol and drug abuse. These enforcement efforts are funded through a grant from the Kansas Department of Transportation.